United InnoWorks Academy, Inc.

Position opening in science education

Starting date: ASAP (see below)

United InnoWorks Academy, Inc. (UIA, InnoWorks) is seeking candidates interested in science and engineering education with the entrepreneurial drive to fill the role of Director of the InnoWorks National Office. We are looking for a passionate, enthusiastic, personable, and scientifically literate person with strong business skills who understands(or is willing to learn) how to establish and build non-profit, educational startups to manage and direct the national expansion of this extraordinary science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program. The Director should have a working knowledge of finance, fundraising, grant writing and excellent communications and marketing skills appropriate for a non-profit organization. Although not a requirement, it is also desirable for the Director to be familiar with the philanthropy sector interested in supporting organizations with goals similar to InnoWorks. The Director must have excellent communication and management skills in working with the InnoWorks staff, sponsors, chapters and national and local community leaders.

Background:

UIA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization founded in 2003. Our goal is to design and implement programs to foster interest in science, technology, and engineering among middle school students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with particular emphasis placed on targeting minorities and females. In the process, we are meeting the following objectives:

  1. Provide underprivileged students with an opportunity to explore links between classroom science & engineering and real-life problem solving.
  2. Foster collaborative skills and develop a strong work ethic in each child.
  3. Nurture interpersonal relationships in a community-centered mentoring environment.
  4. Use current neuroscience and educational research to develop and evaluate innovative pedagogical methods.

The InnoWorks initiative is unique among extracurricular educational programs for several reasons. First, InnoWorks programs are offered entirely free of charge for all students nominated by their schools and community centers. Second, the programs are developed and conducted entirely by volunteer undergraduate students from around the country who are eager to share their passion for science and engineering. Third, InnoWorks curricula are designed to be exceptionally interdisciplinary, which enables students to understand connections among different scientific fields and how they relate to their own lives. Finally, to personalize and improve mentoring and teaching methodologies, InnoWorks develops and evaluates novel adaptations of research by cognitive neuroscientists and educational psychologists.

InnoWorks has built innovative interdisciplinary curricula and engaged over 100 underprivileged middle-school kids through three successful programs over the past two years. Through generous sponsorships, these camps are made available completely free-of-charge for the participants. Working with local community and educational leaders, the camps are run by volunteer undergraduate mentors and staff who have established InnoWorks chapters at their universities. Currently, there are five InnoWorks chapters at DukeUniversity, University of Maryland, University of Arizona, GeorgetownUniversity, and the University of Pennsylvania. Currently there are over 100 InnoWorks volunteers.

InnoWorks National office

InnoWorks has grown dramatically in the three years since its inception. As a result of this rapid expansion, it has become clear that the program needs a national office to help establish, coordinate and support the activities of the individual InnoWorks chapters. There have been inquiries from all over the country and as far away as Saudi Arabia, India, and the UK.

Director position:

The Director will report directly to the CEO of InnoWorks and will work closely with the InnoWorks Board of Directors, Board of Advisors and the individual university chapters. The presumptive director's primary responsibilities in the first year would be to work both independently and in collaboration with associated faculty and board members to secure additional funding and sponsors for a solid foundation of support for the national office. Concomitantly, the Director of the InnoWorks National Office is expected to continuously assess and improve the pedagogical strategies and educational research to further the impact of InnoWorks on our students and mentors through our local chapters. In addition, other responsibilities of the National Office will include but are not limited to: (1) responding to queries for new chapters by sending guidelines and evaluating proposals, (2) disseminating and developing program and training materials such as books, equipment, and training videos, (3) developing and conducting the annual National Leadership Summit, (4) facilitating inter-chapter communication and compiling a national newsletter, (5) making site visits in support of the chapters, (6) overseeing development and synthesis of new curricula that will be performed at both the local and national level, (7) developing and evaluating the program, (8) obtaining funding, in part to support local chapters, and (9) managing the InnoWorks budgets.

Compensation:

We are looking for a 10-month, full-time contract with compensation negotiable (however, see preferences below for flexibility guidelines). We have secured salary commitments for one year from interested businesses, which include a small working fund. Depending on the success in obtaining funding, bonuses can be made part of the compensation package. Subsequent salary will depend on acquired funding for a 12-month, full-time contract.

Requirements:

Ph.D. in science and/or engineering, with a record of interest and accomplishment in education, either completed or to be awarded within a year.

Ability to devote a minimum of three weeks full-time (but not necessarily contiguously) in July-September, 2006, to site visits, program training, participation in InnoWorks 2006 programs, and exposure to other aspects of the current InnoWorks organization.

Access to a computer, the internet, and a phone line. Some support for infrastructural resources will be available.

Preferences:

This position offers a suitable candidate an exciting opportunity to direct and support the growth of this extraordinary program. However, the success of this position and the program as a whole will depend on the ability of the Director to secure additional funding beyond the first year. As a result, we feel that the Director must possess exceptional interpersonal skills, a strong belief in the power of public/private partnerships to foster meaningful educational opportunities, and excellent writing and presentation abilities. The InnoWorks Program has a proven track record for obtaining significant funding, and it will be the responsibility of the Director to continue and build upon that record.

Note also that we have some flexibility in the funding for the first year, which will allow us to support a Director on a sliding scale of effort, from part-time to full-time, depending on needs. However, we would prefer candidates who are willing to devote approximately two-months of full-time effort almost immediately (July-August, 2006), which will serve as the primary training and networking opportunity for the candidate. The exact nature of the time-commitments will be negotiated as part of the interviewing process.

If interested, or for more information, contact Dr. Ahrash Bissell (DukeUniversity, ) and William L. Hwang(UIA, ).

Applications will be processed as they are received.